Oral

Individuals’ and community’s perceptions of health risks are not always accurate and are often influenced by social norms about what constitutes an acceptable risk and what risks are under personal control. Similarly, the adoption and sustainability of recommended health and social behaviors or emergency mitigation measures are influenced by cultural and social norms, which in turn influence social support levels. This session focuses on how to consider and incorporate a social norm-mindful process as part of risk communication interventions as well as to encourage community-driven communication interventions to shift social attitudes and norms about risk and risk mitigation behaviors, thus framing issues as preventable health problems both domestically and internationally. The session includes presentations on several US and international models, case studies and post-intervention evaluations.

Session Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be able to: Discuss the importance of incorporating a social norm-mindful process as part of risk communication interventions Identify key elements of community-based interventions to shift social attitudes and norms on health and social behaviors Describe lessons learned and theoretical approaches as they apply to the development of future risk communication interventions both in the U.S. and internationally